Tiger Woods has accomplished a lot in golf, and one of the things he did early in his career his hit a hole-in-one at the Greater Milwaukee Open. And now fans have a chance to own the historic ball as it is being auctioned off through Heritage Auctions. According to Man of Many, the bidding will go on for the next two weeks and will surpass $50,000.
“It’s difficult to equate the significance of this ball to something in another sport,” Chris Nerat, the sports consignment director at the auction house, said in a statement. “This is more than just someone hitting a home run or scoring a touchdown in his first game, because those things, while exceedingly difficult and impressive, happen far more frequently than a hole-in-one.”
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Golf fan Bob Gustin attended the event in 1996 with his brother-in-law David Beck. Once Woods hit the hole-on-one, the two convinced the golf star to throw the ball into the crowd. Gustin caught it and got the ball signed by Woods with the help of the tournament director. “Whatever it goes for, I’m splitting that with my brother-in-law, David,” he said in a statement. “He’s the one who it deflected off of before it came to me. We both had a part in me ending up with this ball, so we’ll both enjoy it after it goes to someone else.” As of Wednesday afternoon, the price of the ball is $31,000.
The of Woods’ memorabilia will likely increase since he’s not playing as much due to the car accident that happened in February 2021. But the 15-time major champion will return to the golf course on Dec. 10 in the seventh edition of The Match. Woods will team up with Rory McIlroy and will face Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.
McIlroy recently gave an update on Woods’ health. “Tiger overall is fine, he is still working hard on his rehabilitation,” McIlroy said, per Golf & Turismo, adding, “the road is long but improving day by day. After the Open Championship, he had to take a break, but I think he can be back by the end of the year, maybe at the Hero World Challenge.”
